Flush type door lock



.I une 16, 19531 A. L. PELclN FLUSH TYPE DooR Lock Filed llarch 14, 1951 n VWM man), 'f l Ar /vsys l Patented June 16, 1953 Y FLUSH TYPEDOORLOCK" ii AlbertLLPelcin,.Maplef Heights, ;.0hio, assignor toA t 'f.

The Eastem Malleablez'lron CompanyfNaugaz t11ck,Conn.,--a corporation of .Connecticut- Appiiaiisn-Marehii; 1951, serial-Nq. 215,517 1 claims-.11.01. 2924173) able :'for the doors :of utilityftr'ucks and other automotive vehicles Ibecausethey normally do-not'V a haveany projecting .part likely to cause personal-- injury.v

As one ofits objectslthis invention aims toy provide `an improved 4flush ftype door lock 'of a lunitary constructionl adaptedto be Vquickly and easily-installed',` and which' comprises a re1al tivelyfsmall number off-parts adapted to `be economically'produced and assembled.- t 15 Another object'v isv lto providew a unitar-y-'door lock `of this character-:having a body/member iny the for-m ofashallowrecessed-sheetmetal pan and aniactuatinghandle radapted vto-*svving out- Wardl-y and inWardly-offsuch panV recess and being` of a Ysize and shape tol form a partial coverfor` the pan recess, and in which a guideway for 4the. bolt ofy the lock 'is formed-by a hollowinemberf located on the back ofthe pan and secured direct-` ly to the bottom wall thereof. Y

A further object is Ato providean' innziroved-j. flushftype door lock lof the character mentioned# in Wh-icha spring-pressed bolt is retained inthe guideway 4by an arm projecting from theiback ofA n L the actuating handle and extending linto the '1'0 guidewaythrough an opening ofthe'ibottom Wall of thepan-shaped body member.

Still another object is to providean improved flushftype door lock ofthe character mentioned. A in Which the pan-shaped body member and the" actuating handle have openings Whichv "are in substantially alignedrelation Whenjthe liandle'k is in -a-'retracted 'position in` the recess'of 'the body? member and lin which valocling rdevicejv mounted4A on the body -meinberincludesakey-Lo' actuated bolt which is engageable inthe aligned".V` f openings.'

The invention can be further briefly sum-mar-' ized as constitutingin eertainvnovel combinations Aand arrangements of parts hereinafter described and particularly lset out inthe claim hereof.

In the accompanyingfsheet oi-drawings,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation showingtheimproved: j lock installed in substantially flush `relatio'rriria "0 recessor opening of anexternal door-surface; r

Fig. 2 is 'a longitudinal edgefvievf ofthe ine. stalled lock and also showing vadjacent 'portions'` of thedoor and door frame`in section;

Fig. 3 is a: transverse section taken 'through installedirlock substantially ver-ticalsection line 3:-.3 of Figi 1; 4and Fig-4 is a longitudinalxisection:takenthrough: .the installed lock `substantially asindicated by indicated .synthe the horizontalsection line 4sr4 of Fis.' 1.

Thei'mproved. door lock SIG lis: shown .in the accompanyingfdr-awinghas comprising, in general, Y a recessed `body memberil slidably supporting af f bolt `l 2.- 'whi'ch isadaptedto beextended by a compressi-oni. spring'. f I 3.. and an actuating vhandle I4 V operablerto.retractwthe bolt againstthe action of r "the spring.

The 'lock |0f can beiA u'sedinf various different locations-.and for variousipurpo-sesy-but is espe" ciallyfsuitable for-fuse-o-n-ltheldoorsof:automotive vehiclesandparticularlyonthe doors of tool'corn-r partmen-ts orZ the like ofl-utilityftrucks.

1example-fofsuchuse,r `the improved lock Il)Y is As one show-n iri' the drawingvv as having been'y installed man1-opening or recess I-5fof the'front'orexternal surface t6'I of a door-'I1 Whichisfused to 'close a l ^tool vcompartmentfor,` the like of suchv-autility vided by suitable hingesinot shown)- and in itsclosed' 'position cooperates vwith adjacent vehicle structure'y such as the door-frame i8.: A striker .plate' 'I91mounted 'onthe door frame-I8 vis provided with ani-openingrZinto Which'the bolt I2* eXtendsWhen thedoor 1"!y is in its closed position. 1

The ibodymember Heof the improved lock lil comprises a substantially pan-shapedsheet metal part yhaving-a substantially flat bottom Wall 2| and pairs of opposed side and end Walls 22,A 23 and 24, 25deningv a` shallow 'pan-like recess 26.

The recess- 26Lis'o'f a quadrang'ulaishape 'having roundedcornersiB-a and extends into the body' `1 .mem'berrl If-from the-frontthereofand is preferw Y' ably of ra substantiallynniform depth; The bodyl member 'llralso incl-udes a laterallyy extending f integrali 'flange' 21wl which `issubstantially -conf tinuous around theperimeter'of the recess 2E and h v extends in ian outturned relation thereto.r A'For a`A purpose to .be .further explained hereinafter, the

' portionv of 'the' angeZlji Which"'exten'ds` along they side 23 'ofthe'b.odymembe1fil*l Ais Ya substantially triangularrel-atively Wide liange 4portion 21a having an openingZB therein.

lA hollowguide member '-33, preferably formed of sheet` metal', is directly^connected with `the body member 'HJ and denes'a guidewayi in* which'4 mediate portionof a 'substantiallycuadrangular crosse'sectional"shape` defining the guideway 3i is provided with a substantially fiat end face 35 at the inner end thereof and at its outer end is provided with -a convexly curved lportion 33 for cooperation with the striker plate I 9.

The compression spring I3 is located in the guide member in engagement with the inner end 35 of the bolt I2 and applies outward thrust to the bolt tending to project the same from the guideway 3I. The spring I3 also seats against an end wall provided at the inner end of the guide member 39 and formed by an integral portion 3B of the latter which is bent to a substantially right angle relation across the end of the guideway as shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The angularly bent portion 38 is held against outward bending as by means of a pair of in-v turned lugs 39 formed by integral the side walls of the guide member.

The bolt I2 is provided with a longitudinal slot 40 extending into the bolt from the flat face thereof which lies against the bottom wall 2I of the body member II. As shown in Fig. 4, the bottom wall 2I is also provided with a longitudinal slot 4I which is in substantially registering relation with a portion of the slot 4G of the bolt. The handle I4 carries a rigid bolt-actuating arm. 42 having a blade portion 43 which extends through the slot 4I into the guideway 3i and engages in the slot 40 of the bolt. The arm 42 is preferably in the form of a sheet metal member and includes a substantially iiat attaching portion 44 which is secured to the handle i4, as by means of spot welding 45, such that the blade portion 43 extends rearwardly from the handle at the back thereof.

The handle I4 is preferably made of sheet metal and comprises a generally quadrangular substantially ila-t plate portion 45 adapted to form a cover for a portion-of the recess 26 of the body member II. The handle I4 also includes a pair of inturned integral ilanges 41 and 48 along the sides thereof and which lie adjacent the longitudinal side walls 22 and 23 of the body member II. l

The handle I4 is pivotally connected with the body member I I as by means of rivets or the like 49 and Eil which extend through the flanges 41 and 48 of the handle and through the side walls 22 and 23 of the body member. As shown in Figs. 1 and 4, the pivot members 49 and 50 are located adjacent the left edge of the handle member I4 such that this member is adapted to swing outwardly and inwardly with respect to the pan-shaped recess 26 of the body member. The drawing shows the handle I4 in its retracted position in which its outer surface is substantially ilush with the door surface I6 and in which the handle forms a cover for the left end portion of the recess 26. The arm 42 is mounted on the handle I4 adjacent the pivoted edge thereof such that the arm and handle assembly forms a bellcrank lever for actuating the bolt I2.

The transverse inner end wall 5I of the slot 40 of the bolt I2 forms an abutment surface with portions of which the blade portion 43 of the actuating arm 42 cooperates. When the handle I4 is grasped by the insertion of the ngers through the open right end portion of the recess 26 and is man-v ually swung outwardly of this recess, the bladel portion 43 applies inward thrust to the abutment surface 5I and retracts the bolt I2 into the guideway 3I in opposition to the spring I3. Such withdrawal of the bolt into the guideway disengages the same from the opening 20 of the striker plate I9 to vpermit opening movement of the door I1.

When the handle I4 is released, the spring I3 moves the bolt I2 outwardly causing the abutment surface 5I to apply thrust to the blade portion 43 in a direction to swing the handle inwardly of the recess 25 to its substantially flush position shown in the drawing. Thus with the lock construction above described, it will be seen that the handle I4 will be held in a substantially iiush position by the action of the spring I3 at all times except when the handle has been manually swung out of the recess 26. This normally flush position for the handle I 4 is very desirable because the handle -then cannot be left in a projecting position in which it might cause personal injury by striking a pedestrian.

As another feature of the improved door lock IB, a key-actuated locking device 52 is provided on the wide flange 21a of the body member I I and cooperates with the handle I4 for locking the same in its initial or retracted position. The locking device 52 may comprise a conventional cylinder type lock unit adapted to be controlled and actuated by a conventional key 54 when inserted thereinto. The cylinder unit 53 is mounted on the flange 21 by being disposed in the opening 28 and retained in such position by the nut 55. The locking device 52 also includes a swinging bolt 5t which is connected with the inner end of the cylinder unit 53 to be swung thereby.

As shown in the drawings, the side wall 23 of the body member II is provided with a locking slot 51 and the adjacent iiange 48 of the handle I4 is also provided with a locking slot 58 which is in substantially registering relation with the slot of the body member when the handle is in its retracted position. When the locking device 52 has been assembled on the flange 21a of the body member II, the bolt 56 will occupy a position such that rotation of the cylinder member 53 in one direction by the key 54 will swing the bolt into the aligned slots 51 and 58 to lock the handle I4, and rotation of the key in the opposite direction will swing the bolt 56 out of such slots to unlock the handle.

As shown in Fig. 4, the slot 46 of the bolt I2 is made of a length such that the bolt will be movable into the hollow guide member 3i) in opposition to the spring I3 whenever the door I1 is slammed shut and this inward movement of the bolt can take place without causing an outward swinging of the handle I4. Thus the increased length of the slot 40 -provides a separable operating connection between the arm 42 and the abutment surface 5I which will permit the door I1 to be slammed shut even though the handle is locked in its retracted position by the locking device 52.

When the improved door lock II) is assembled on the door I1, the pan-like portion of the body member I I engages in the recess or opening I 5 of the door and the outturned lateral flange 21 of the body member forms a locating ange which Ythe bottom wall ofthe body member.

Ameans of screws or any other suitable connecting devices (not shown).

From the accompanying drawing and the foregoing detailed description it will now be readily understood that this invention provides an` improved door lock which is of a very simple construction embodying a relatively small number of parts, and when installed on the door of an automotive vehicle occupies a substantially flush K position such that there will be no projecting part or parts likely to cause accidental personal injury. Moreover, it will be seen that this improved docr lockis of a unitary constructionin which the actuating handle normallyoccupies a retracted position in the recess of thebody member and in which a hollow guide member for the sliding bolt is connected with the body member by being mounted directly on the rear surface of Additionally, it will be seen that a key-actuated locking device is provided and cooperates with the body member and the handle in a novel manner for maintaining the handle in a locked condition when desired. n Althoughthe improved door lock of this invention has been illustrated and described herein to a somewhat detailed extent, it will be understood of course that the invention is not to be regarded as being limited correspondingly 1n scope, but includes all changes and modifications coming within the terms of the claim hereof.

Having thus described my invention, I claim: In a lock intended for Substantially flush installation in a surface opening of a door, a sheet metal body member of substantially quadrangular pan-like shape having side walls and a substantially flat bottom wall defining a recess of lateral flange extending around the front recess thereof and engageable with the door surface, a vs ubstantially channel shaped ksheet metal guide member having lateral anges secured to said bottom wall and mounting said guide member on the back of said body member for defining a longitudinal guideway thereon, said bottom wall having a longitudinal slot therein connecting said recess with said guideway, -a bolt slidable in said guideway and having a slot therein substantially in register with the slotI of said bottom wall, a spring in said guideway engaging said bolt, a handle comprising a substantially quadrangular sheet metal plate member disposed in said recess and being of a plan size to form avcover for a portion of said recess with one end of said handle spaced from one end of said recess to permit insertion of the fingers therebetween, said handle having a pair of inturned integral ilanges. thereon' extending into said recess adjacent a pair of the side walls ofsaid body member, pivot means connecting said flanges .with

vsaid pair of side walls adjacent the other end of said recess for swinging of said handle outwardly and inwardly of said recess, and a sheet metal arm rigidly connected with said handle and having a blade portion extending rearwardly from substantially uniform depth extending into said I `bodymember from the front thereofsai'd body member also having a substantially continuous the handle through the slotA of said `bottom wall into said guideway and engaging in the slot of vsaid bolt, said spring being effective to extend said bolt from said guideway and to cause swinging of said handle inwardly of said recess to a retracted position therein and said arm being effective on said bolt for retracting the latter against said spring in response to manual swinging of said handle outwardly of said recess, the slot of said bolt being of a length such that a portion thereof forms a clearance space for said arm which permits inward movement of said .Y bolt in vopposition to'said spring while said'handle remains in its retracted position in the recess of said body member.

ALBERT L. PELCIN.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS France Feb. 19, 1929 

